This invention relates to a system and method for cooling a film capacitor.
A film capacitor has two or more layers of a dielectric material, such as plastic. The dielectric material is metallized by depositing metal using vacuum deposition or spray to make the material electrically conductive. The two layers are then rolled and compacted. The ends of the roll are sprayed with a metal to make the ends electrically conductive. These rolls are then placed in a housing, which may be sealed with an epoxy resin.
Due to the nature of the dielectric material, the film capacitor may be sensitive to heat. Often times, these capacitors are the most temperature limiting parts inside of a motor controller used in aircraft application or similar products. The location of the film capacitor within the epoxy resin may further adversely affect the ability of the film capacitor to eliminate excess heat. Consequently, the film capacitor may overheat. As electric storage demands increase, there is an even greater need for the removal of excess heat from the film capacitor.
A need therefore exists for a film capacitor assembly that easily and inexpensively eliminates excess heat and prevents overheating.